


Only A Fool For You

by MaryIsNotImaginary



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkward reader, Bucky finds it so cute tho, Civil War, Cuddles, During, F/M, Fluff, Hella awkward reader, Kinda, Lace, Sebastian Stan fuck me up, Sexy Times, Snuffles - Freeform, Stuck with Bucky barnes, Tony stank - Freeform, Underwear, all hot and bothered, ans my hormones are fucking me ip, any type, anyway right cute, awkward boner, baguettes, bucky Barnes can fuck me up too, but he's tryna recover ok, campbells soup, for real, fuck me up real good, gimme some with angry winter soldier, hmmm, ill, like srs, lots of fluff, lots of fun, okkk??, post winter soldier, pre civil war, pre war, recovering Bucky Barnes, slight ooc bucky, so shout out to my awkward people, sorry - Freeform, this is a cute fic, ur so awkward bc Im awkward and I wanted to put that in here, well not really sexual times, yes - Freeform, you feel the same tho so it's cool, you make him flustersdd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 16:57:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaryIsNotImaginary/pseuds/MaryIsNotImaginary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reader lives in the apartment across from Bucky and you're both silly idiots that don't realise the other's affections</p><p> </p><p>(This was originally meant to be a one-shot but I loved writing it too much)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Sebastian Stan makes me flustered and this fanfic is a result of that
> 
> Enjoy

The first time you got stuck with Bucky, you'd never spoken to him before. Of course you'd seen him, the beautiful God of a man was impossible not to notice and you weren't going to lie to yourself- you'd stared every time you'd seen him. You found him terribly attractive, and you were rather upset with yourself you turned into such a pathetic school girl whenever you saw him. You wanted to be some hot neighbour, confident and cool, not a blithering mess of red cheeks and sexual tension, but that was just you. He'd lived in the apartment across from you in your building for about 2 months, your doors opposite on the 7th floor up. Despite your obvious intention to strike up a conversation with him, he'd never tried to even insinuate one with you which was disappointing to say the least. He'd never said hi, gave a short wave of anything that seemed friendly to you, just kept his head down with his baseball cap over long brown hair. However, even the baseball cap could not mask the striking blue colour his eyes were, and that's how you guessed you were attracted to him in the first place. You'd gushed to a friend that he must have hypnotised you with brilliant blue irises, and of course you sounded crazy and she'd confirmed that you did.

You were coming home after a late shift at the hospital, you had to tend to a suspicious looking man who had his arm broken in 3 places. The reason he looked suspicious was his dark clothing and ear piece, which made you think he'd had his arm broken in 3 places, and it was no accident. You knew you always thought too much into things like that, but you were always looking for excitement, always making up stories to excite yourself during boring shifts. When you'd got back to your apartment building, you were far too tired to take the stairs, your legs had taken on the familiar dull ache you were used to after walking from floor to floor at work. The elevator seemed like the best option. You'd had earphones in while you were waiting for the lift to come to ground floor, playing the remastered 1940s music, your friend's grand aunt had suggested to you, and you'd fallen in love with. A light flickered on and the doors opened, so you entered with a slight sigh in the knowledge you'd be able to lie face down on your bed in a few minutes. 

You'd turned just in time to see the gorgeous man, who had gained your affection, hold his arm across the doors and come in. This was not your first time being in an elevator with him, but it was your first time being alone in an elevator with him. You started fidgeting as soon as the doors closed, twisting your scrunchie around your wrist, tapping your foot and every so often glancing at the man across from you, but otherwise keeping your head down. A hand reached out and grabbed your wrist, and you looked up into the eyes you loved oh so very much, with confusion and apprehension. He then used his other hand, strangely with more hesitation, and took one of your earphones out. In your mind, all you could think of was how he'd never ever spoken to you and he'd now touched you before even muttering a word. You'd hoped this was it, he was about to admit that he too, had the most embarrassing crush on you. "Could you stop tapping your foot please?" But no, your life sucked. Of course this type of man would never return feelings for anyone other than a Victoria secret model. You wanted nothing more to leave the confined space, but you were stuck there until your floor goddammit. You flushed red, which made his lips curve slightly upwards as he moved back onto his side of the elevator. "Oh yeah, sorry, I'll- um, yeah," you almost smacked yourself round the head. The first impression he got of you was that you annoyingly tapped your foot and couldn't even get a sentence out in the presence of anyone even mildly attractive. Great. You then thought maybe he didn't even know how much of a god send he was, so might've just thought you couldn't speak to anyone.

Once he'd taken your earphone out, you'd realised that the music was playing rather loud and filled the quiet elevator. You started to turn down the music, but a voice interjected. You looked up at him in confusion and he shook his head. "Please, keep it on, I like this song," he smiled slightly at you and you were shocked. You weren't sure if he was mocking you or not, you hadn't met many who knew this type of music well enough to like it or dislike a certain a song. You took both earphones out, but kept the music playing and a smile had taken over your face. "You like this song? I've never- Really?" You grinned and he smirked, and you liked that expression on him almost as much as the idea of him smiling. "Yeah, this was my favourite song when- uh," he seemed to think twice about whatever he was going to say and you stopped yourself from pulling a confused face incase you came off as rude. "It used to be my favourite song, plus I hear you play it in your flat all the time so I kinda have to love it," He chuckles slightly and you, yet again, flushed red. You had no idea that he could hear what went on in your flat, you cringed as you realise he could probably hear your singing and could hear you knocking things over. When the elevator doors opened you didn't really want to get out and leave the admittedly awkward, but undeniably sweet, conversation. This was the first time you'd spoken to him, and even though you weren't really proud of the stuff you barely managed to say, at least you had spoken, and he'd started the conversation. Well, not exactly, but that was enough for or you. 

He followed after you, but walked to his door as you walked to yours. After you'd unlocked your door, you'd turned to see if he was still there. He was just about to walk into his flat when you called out, and he turned with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, right ok, wasn't expecting you to turn- um what's your name?" He laughed a little at your awkward explanation.   
"My names Bucky," he nodded and you copied the action. You went to introduce yourself, but he interrupted you. "You're Y/N, I know. Goodnight," he smirked and went into his flat fully, closing the door not before leaving a cheeky smile you'd think about for days and you standing there awkwardly outside your own flat with flushed cheeks and confusion on how he knew who you were. "Goodnight," you muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky will turn to strange methods to talk to the reader and gets attacked with a baguette for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Travelling back to London from Scotland is a long trek, but gives me an excuse to write and watch sinful Sebastian edits on vine
> 
> Ok so hope u enjoy

The next time you had seen him had been almost luck, well in his opinion it was, however you were finding in increasingly difficult to talk to him, even when he tried with you. You thought it would be easier, but when the man spoke to you, you were just completely stumped on what to say. It had been around 2 weeks since being in the lift with Bucky and since then you'd been self conscious about playing your music, even though you knew he liked it. But you hadn't played any today, even though you were bored. You'd had the day off work due to a cold having hit you hard, and you didn't want to make anyone at work more ill than they already were, plus you didn't think you could've made it through the day. You'd been sniffling as you walked around the kitchen hunting for something sugary, your eyes puffy and red from rubbing them when they watered and you had a night gown wrapped around you to keep warm. 

When a loud curse came from the corridor, you jumped, and grabbed an item nearest to you- which happened to be baguette. You made your way to your door, unlatching the lock, then twisted the handle so you could see who yelled. A figure flashed in front of you as soon as you'd opened your door making you scream and whack them with the baguette. You'd been so wound up, it appeared your first action was violence. The person now had their hands on their knees to calm their breathing, as it seemed they weren't expecting you to come out of nowhere and attack them with a baguette. It was Bucky, of course. You still held the baguette above your head, ready to hit him again for scaring you so much. He looked up at you and you saw the glint in his eye and you realised he wasn't catching his breath from being scared, he was catching his breath from bloody laughing at you. He must've heard you coming and decided to jump out at you when you opened the door. You scowled, a murderous look over took you and you hit him round the arm with the baguette. "Bucky, what the fuck?" You yelled and he started laughing again and you decided that you would handle being scared the rest of your life just to hear the sound again. "Why would you attack me with a baguette?" He asked, standing up straight and wiping a stray tear from laughing so hard. You huffed, placing one hand on your hip, holding the baguette with the other. "Why would you scare me like that?" You asked, though a smile was creeping on your face because his expression was still so light and joyful you just couldn't hold it back. 

"I'm sorry, doll. I just couldn't help myself," He grinned and you flushed red at the pet name. Who the heck still called people doll? Actually, screw it, you didn't care so long as he kept calling you that. You finally let a laugh out and his cheeks turned a slight pink, which you found endlessly endearing. "What are you doing?" You asked when you noticed shopping bags on the ground slightly crushed, and it looked like by an angry foot. His door also had a slight dent in which wasn't there when you last looked. He hung his head slightly, but honestly, if he could dent a door with just his fist that was pretty hot. "I locked myself out, and then I- I kinda got mad," he gestured to the mess and you laughed slightly, then covered your mouth not wanting to be rude. He looked at though he almost said something but stopped. You thought for a moment. 

"You wanna come in?" You asked, tugging on your sleeve sheepishly and he lifted his head again from its hung position, a hesitant expression had taken over his face. He asked if you were sure, to which you said yes, obviously. You were definitely sure you wanted this flawless man in your flat, but admittedly, you wanted him in your flat longer than he probably wanted to be. He sent you a grateful look, and entered the flat passing you. You gave him your phone and the phone book to ring the locksmith, and then walked back to the kitchen, seeing if you could find any good for you both to have to eat. You hummed quietly as you looked, finally settling for two cans of tomato soup and some white bread. "Campbell's tomato soup, that's the good life. You're treating me," A teasing voice came from the doorway and you chuckled as you heard footsteps near you. He always seemed to put you on edge, but the fact that he had embarrassed himself made you see him as less of a god. Not in a bad way, oh no, but you felt like you could relate to him more and therefore it was easier to be in his presence. It made him more endearing, if you were fully honest, the buzzing in your chest whenever he was near had stayed and not lessened.

"Well, I'm not feeling so hot, need me something soothing and warm," You smiled, and then took in the look of horror in his face. You froze, in panic, wondering if you'd said something completely wrong, when suddenly he grabbed you and all but carried you into your living room and pretty much shoved you on your sofa. "Bucky wha-"  
"You look all worn out, you look like you've been crying too. How did I not notice? God. Have you been crying? Please tell me you haven't," He rushed, bent down in front of you with your hands in his, rubbing them softly. You were really confused as to what had gotten into him, of course you were lapping up the attention but the man looked like he could snap 12 men's necks all at once and here he was panicking over you looking a bit under the weather. It was flattering, to say the least, but you guessed he just had a mother hen nature. "Bucky, I'm fine, just ill- no crying I promise," at this he let out a sigh of relief but still didn't look too convinced you were okay. You wondered why on earth he was acting so out of character today, as he was normally so nonchalant about everything.

"I'll make the soup," he said, more like to himself and you raised an eyebrow. So he didn't really look like a man who made soup, and that's why you found yourself laughing, hand covering your mouth with full flushed cheeks. He looked confused, a face that you thought made him look like a puppy, and it almost made you laugh again. This brick house Bucky Barnes was going to tuck you up and make you soup, the whole concept made you laugh and made you flustered all at once. What you wouldn't give to be pressed up against his chest in a warm embrace while he wished you to get better, you doubted you wouldn't give your left arm just to have a friendly arm over the shoulder. "Bucky, honestly, you don't need to baby me," you assured him and he did not look convinced for one moment and placed his hand on your forehead to take your temperature and you jumped at the cold feeling. "Holy shit- I should be worrying about you, you're freezing-"

"I'm going to make soup!" He said in a much sterner voice and left you sat on the sofa, with your hand still reaching out slightly to touch his arm. That was new, why on earth was he so cold? You knew your flat wasn't the warmest, but also knew you had never been that cold in your life. You sat on your sofa pondering about it for a while, before deciding maybe he didn't actually feel the cold or something or maybe he was made of metal. You nearly let out a laugh, yeah sure, made out of metal. To your side was your phone, so you picked it up just to fight the slight boredom creeping over you as you waited for your soup. On the screen when you first went on was recent calls, so you just checked what locksmith Bucky had rung, but you were left puzzled. The most recent call was from this morning when you called work, but you thought Bucky had called the company on your phone. You stood, shuffling to the kitchen with a slight smile. "Hey Buck-can I call you- right okay. Um, did you call the locksmith on my phone?" You asked, crossing your arms as you leaned in the doorway and he stared for a couple of seconds at you with what seemed like awe. No, of course not, why would he stare in awe at you? "Yeah, I called them, should be here in an hour," he lifted an eyebrow at you and you nodded knowingly. If he had rung, it would be in your calls, so he hadn't called anyone. You weren't exactly sure what that meant, but it had to mean something.

He'd made sure you were snuggled in a blanket on your sofa, whenever you tried to get up he pushed you back down and tucked you in more so you looked rather like a burrito. The soup was good, and he'd had some too though he refused to sit down and get comfortable, seemingly more invested in you being comfortable which was strange to you. Due to your nagging, he'd sat down, but refused a blanket which worried you immensely, as you had felt how cold he was before. His gentlemanliness was strange, but brilliant and sweet and just made him oh so much more gorgeous and you really felt yourself slipping into infatuation. It was a tragedy, but you felt better than the man you had such a large crush on was, indeed, a sweetheart and not a gang member or something along those lines. You then supposed actually, it wouldn't change the fact that Bucky Barnes was(in your mind) the man for you. He could be a violent assassin and you'd still feel the same most likely. It was ridiculous, you hardly knew the man, but you liked being around him almost too much. He'd left when an hour was long gone, the two of you talking for some but otherwise just sitting in a comfortable silence which you rarely found you could have with anyone else. You always talked to much, or too little, but with Bucky, you felt as though you said the right amount. Hell yea, you embarrassed yourself for nearly the whole time you were around him, but you could tell he found your antics rather funny.

You stood at your door, despite his protests, with your arms wrapped around yourself and a warm smile on your face at the man about a metre in front of you. He half returned it and you had to stop yourself from noticing every feature on his face. You were trying to stop being such a creep whenever he was around to not much avail. "My flats always open to you when uh- you destroy your groceries in a fit of rage," you smiled awkwardly, but he looked grateful and also not sure what to do now. With hope, you thought he might hug you, but the defence you'd seen so often in his blue irises had come back and you knew he was about to step back and go. He pulled out his key when he got to his door and you stared at him in shock, "are you kidding me?" You blurted out and he laughed.  
"Thanks for the great company and the soup, doll," He lifted his fingers to his head and saluted shortly before disappearing into his flat. You cursed Bucky Barnes with a smile on your face.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to seduce Bucky and it works but the boys tryna keep it on the down low that he thinks ur a goddamn sex bomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you don't mind???? I separated this into two parts because I'd rather get a chapter out, but the next bit will be out soon?? basically I was listening to 'Pony', 'Ignition(remix)' and 'Surprise Party' while writing this so this is the result
> 
> My advice to u is to listen to Surprise Party and think about Seb- the song makes me blush like crazy now

It had been a few days since you'd seen Bucky and you were trying not to worry yourself. It wasn't exactly your place to worry, but you were finding it hard to distance yourself from the man who gave you such a charming smile whenever you saw him. He'd taken to nearly always saying hi when he passed you since he'd been in your flat, but only three days after that he'd gone of the radar completely. You hadn't even heard his flat door open or shut, a sign that he had either been there for days or not returned from wherever he was. You scolded yourself that you had been paying enough attention, maybe he been at the flat in the hours you were at work, but you doubted it, as he normally got back half an hour after you got back from a shift in a regular day. Honestly, you needed a life. You interest had been taken over by worrying about your flawless neighbour.

The most you had done, apart from work, was go to your buildings laundry room and have a conversation with an old woman that lived on the first floor about Bucky, which just made his absence all that more prominent in your mind. "That man stares at you an awful lot you know," She'd said, placing a soft hand on your arm with a knowing look that had you spluttering. Despite her not specifying which man she was talking about, you knew she meant Bucky which just left you exasperated. It was unfair you had such a reaction towards him and he always seemed so collected. "I barely know him," you said, hoping the woman would think he was a man you didn't even look twice towards other than the man you wanted to lay with at night in person rather than in your dreams. "That means nothing pet, that man looks at you like he wants you to be his world- I can tell," She smiled softly and you felt as though she had more experiences with love to last her five times over. You briefly remembered her name as Mrs Lorraine, but you weren't sure, she'd talked to you before about her time in the army. She knew your friend's grand aunt, but they weren't on good terms exactly from what you'd gathered. You struggled to say much else, waving awkwardly and disappearing out the laundry room before she could have you overthinking Bucky Barnes' stares more than you already were. 

You'd invited your sister over just to try get out all your pent up feelings and let her get out her infuriating love life. Your mom was out, and she was 17, so still lived with your parents and your parents didn't really trust her by herself. You got on for the most part, due to your age gap, but she liked teasing you for your lack of relationships, which your mom thought was mean- but you teased her an equal amount for the amount of guys she got through in a week. She leaned on a counter in your kitchen and you did the same, sipping your tea, occasionally laughing at her, as she pulled the funniest faces sometimes. "Let me get this straight, you have this big ol' crush on some 6 foot man built like a skyscraper," she snorted and you rolled your eyes but nodded. Of course, she was right, but she did word things strangely sometimes. "And you have yet to make a move on him despite him living here nearly 3 months?" In your defence, you did try to come up with an explanation, but it was a truly pathetic one and your sister was not stupid. You'd come up with something like he didn't want to talk to you, but since he'd pretended to lock himself out of his flat, even you were doubting that. He knew he had his key at least since he'd come in your flat, maybe even planned him faking being angry just to talk to you. No, no, surely it wasn't just to talk to you, that was plain stupid and you were getting ahead of yourself. However, you really couldn't think of another reason why he'd pretend to lock himself out. It was, admittedly, fucking adorable if it was just to talk to you. You hoped it was.

"I say, you just go 'fuck it', and start walking around with no clothes on," Bree, your sister, had said, throwing her arms up. You flushed red and threw a teaspoon at her, surprisingly hitting her. "I can't just walk around with no clothes on! I live in an apartment block with old people in, they might have a heart attack or something!" You yelled in loss, you knew it was just like her to turn to getting naked as a solution. Every time you had a situation with a potential partner, she suggested taking your clothes off. You'd never once followed her advice, but you had to be honest, it would definitely get his attention. You actually found yourself pondering on her advice, you'd never really done something like that, never gone out of your way to be seductive or whatever. The only long term partner you'd had was in high school and you barely talked, it was more for show. Any other partners after that had mostly been a couple of dates and a kiss, but nothing more. You weren't a virgin, but you'd never really found sex that interesting anyway. Did you just say you didn't find sex interesting? God, you really were a dork. Maybe your sister was right, maybe you needed to get laid. You'd never really thought much about the need for sex before, but Bucky was a god and hell you knew you sure would enjoy anything sexual with him. 

"What do I get out of it?" You raised an eyebrow, and Bree laughed in disbelief.   
"You get to let out all the sexual tension in your body that has built up from seeing that walking sex god around the apartment," she snorted and you glared darkly at her, not in the mood for jokes. You didn't really feel like being humiliated if you were going to put yourself on display in front of a man you had no idea found you attractive or not. This was going to make you vulnerable and Bree knew that, but you also knew she was teasing you so you would back out- so you wouldn't do something you weren't comfortable with. You would normally be grateful, but you needed to live a little. Instead of backing off at the glare, she perked up and rushed off, leaving you trailing after her. Despite being the younger sibling, she really knew way more about these things than you, and you did trust her.

Out of her bag, she pulled a Victoria's Secret bag and you stared at her incredulously. "Why do you have that in there? Oh my god, did you plan this?" You moaned, placing your hand on your forehead. If she had, that just added to your embarrassment. She mumbled an 'of course not' and you sighed in relief but then you were left wondering, rather disturbed, why would she have it with her? "Mom said I should go get some underwear for you, so you've sunk to a lower level. Even mom thinks your lack of a sex is concerning," she explained, with that smug smile you really just wanted to punch off. That little shit, you knew she had been feeding mom all this stuff about your horrible crush on your neighbour, and that had left her pitying you too. You groaned again, even your mom thought you should get some, and that was such a cause for concern. And it disturbed you. Immensely.

Your sister then disappeared into your bedroom and came back with a pretty much see through white shirt you wore when the nights in Brooklyn were too hot. Only at night. In privacy. Thought Bree didn't really seem to care for that, throwing it at you and the bag and suggesting you change while she did her work. You weren't exactly sure what that meant but you knew it didn't sound good. You moved into the bathroom and pulled on the pants first, a rich burgundy lace that was in some ways comfortable and rather old fashioned but suited you just right. The bra was a balcony one, whatever that meant. But it held your breasts nicely, and made them look, for lack of a better word, fucking good. You slipped the shirt on, doing the buttons up to just at the start of your cleavage and you hated to admit you felt like a temptress. You slightly thanked the Lord you had shaved, and slightly thanked Bree that she knew you well enough you preferred a modest kind of sexy instead full sultry. You heard a loud bang and you quickly put the bag on the side and rushed into the kitchen in panic, to find your sister taking a hammer to one of your pipes under your sink and you hit your forehead with your hand, an action that you found yourself quite often doing when she was around. You yanked the hammer out her hand and glared at her as some water flowed into your floor, smacking her upside her head calling her an idiot while she cackled. You often wondered about her sanity. 

"You look hot, anyway, now you gotta go knock on his door and ask him to fix your pipe," she winked and you sighed, exasperated. You weren't very good at fixing things(you knew it was worrying, your job was kinda fixing things) and you actually had to go ask Bucky for help, as you thought he probably could and would fix it for you. "Looking like this?" You whined, and she laughed and nodded. You often wished you had her confidence with her body, and people. She could probably chat up anyone and have them agreeing to go on a date with her at 3 in the morning, it was crazy. And she was never manipulative, just pure intentions and promises of good company that had led her to becoming one of the greatest people you've known. You hoped your sister did know how dearly you loved her and how bright a light you saw her in. "I'm gonna go, don't wanna get in the way. I love you, sis, okay?" You grinned, pulling the rascal into your arms for a tight hug, thanking the Lord you were the same height for once- otherwise she would have got a face of boob. You almost laughed aloud at your thought process. "I love you too," you replied into her hair, thinking about how you both needed to see each other more often. It had been too long, and you found yourself not comfortable knowing the two of you had been separated for so long, even though it probably wasn't that long at all. She was comfort and she was family.

She let go of you and smirked. "Go get him, tiger," she winked.

She was also a cheeky little shit.

You practically shoved her out your flat after that, then tried to calm your breathing as you thought about knocking on his door. You could act like what you're wearing is totally normal and you were totally not trying to seduce him at all. You looked down at yourself and sighed, and then chuckled slightly at the thought of going to work like that and seeing the reactions. What a dork. Smoothing down your shirt, you finally decided to walk to your door and then found yourself outside of his flat completely froze up. This was inappropriate, totally inappropriate but you actually had an excuse. You liked Bree's thinking sometimes, you actually had to knock now, no backing out. You breathed, then knocked, hoping that he would actually be in otherwise you were kinda screwed and then you would probably be embarrassed for the next month. You heard heavy footsteps behind and you tried to make your face go into an easy smile, but you don't think you'd ever pulled an 'easy' smile in your life. The reason you were you was the awkwardness and sweetness. Fuck it. You were going to be hot and awkward, at the same time and if Bucky didn't like it, you'd move on. Maybe. Or maybe you'd just pine over him for even longer, that was most likely.

He opened the door and you watched in some type of amusement as his eyes widened, eyebrows raised and jaw fell open. "Hey Buck, could I ask a favour?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Self doubt comes in a package when dealing with feelings for a man who's as much as a God as Bucky Barnes and it honestly sucks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi omg, it's been like a year or two, I'm so sorry. I'm gonna try keep updating this because I did like it once and I still love my man James Buchanan Barnes

“A favour?” God, you knew you were an idiot to even think that this was a good idea, or one that you would not spend night upon night banging your head against your wardrobe regretting, but the look on Bucky’s face was worth everything. “Yea, a favour, I’m kind of an idiot- I mean, you know that, but I let my little sister try to fix a blockage in my sink and now it’s kinda leaking into my kitchen.” He stared with those piercing eyes and you could hear your heart in your ears as he ran them down your body and you couldn’t believe you thought you were the least subtle person alive. It was a good, empowering feeling, unlike the men on the street that called to you when you walked home, you know Bucky did not look at you like you were an object, but the woman you were.   
He ran a hand over his face and then looked you in the eyes, “Anything for you, doll.” You almost shuddered again at the pet name, it was so old and yet so new because it was so unused, but unlike before where it was sweet and caring, he held a darker and more lustful tone. Fuck. You were so fucked.   
You moved back and then twirled back around to walk back into your apartment and without even realising at first, you were swaying your hips more than usual. You almost laughed at your attempts at being seductive as you’d never tried before and it had really taken your teenage sister to push you into the boundary you should’ve pushed about 10 years prior to now. Bucky was right behind you and closed the door quietly, almost to not disturb the delicate layer of sexual tension in your flat, and you knew any sudden movements probably would have caused a meltdown on your behalf. You had a feeling that he really didn’t know you were trying, and you thanked the lords above for that. 

You sighed at the sight of the water spilling onto the floor, and the reality of what your sister had done hit you. You did actually need Bucky, for his practical ability rather than the needs you had for him that had been running through your head. You bent down to have a look at the damage and heard a sharp intake of breath from behind you but didn’t turn to look. When you stood straight again, you found that while you were inspecting the pipe, Bucky had come closer and as you straightened out, you were doing so with your back pressed to his chest. He gripped your hips and you breathed in and you could feel his mouth move closer to your ear. “Watch yourself there,” he breathed and he then used his hands to maneuver you to the side of him so he could move past to bend down in front of the pipe. You put your hand out to lean on the work surface and just stared at his back.

You were in so deep that you had no idea what move to do next. This whole thing was terrifying; you had never been this close to a man intimately and felt so strongly. You felt as though you were acting like a little girl and it sickened you all of a sudden because why the hell would this beautiful man want anything to do with you? He probably had a girlfriend overseas or something, someone who he was waiting for. Someone worth it. It hurt, but you knew if you didn’t think about it all you’d do was end up pining after a man who’d given you the slightest bit of attention and it was probably out of kindness. You were a nurse, for crying out loud- not a successful business woman or whatever the hell men like him suited.  
He turned back at you and smiled and suddenly you felt yourself shift into a position with your arms wrapped around the thin, white blouse that covered- well, made you mildly less exposed. “Did she take at it with a hammer?” He chuckled deeply, and you were brought back into the situation and smiled.   
“A hammer? Well uh- I mean, I think that’s what she thinks solving the problem is,” He stood and towered over you with a smirk and it struck with you that he had 100% had figured it out and was teasing you. “Well, it’s pretty late and I know you have work in the morning but I wouldn’t want to leave a dame like you in any kind of trouble, so I’m just going to fetch some stuff and I’ll be right back to fix this up for you.”  
You smiled brightly and he returned it back for what you realised was the first time you’d properly seen him beam. His eyes seemed like they shone and it was hard to leave the moment because he looked astonishing and you wondered if this had been the first time he’d smiled fully in a long time because his face showed fading smile lines of the past and to wear into them again, you thought, would be a pleasure to rediscover. He moved past you then and the moment went with him, but it still resonated within you.

You decided that it was the perfect time for tea.

Yes, it was getting late, but 11pm wasn’t too bad and work in the morning wouldn’t be awful as the mornings are the least busy so you could survive as long as you got to see Bucky. You felt bad now, the guilt kicking in with how late it actually was that you were asking him to come fix up your pipe as if it wasn’t actually your fault in the first place- maybe not directly but still. He didn’t seem to mind though.  
You let the tea brew and watched as the liquid grew darker, cursing yourself for not asking Bucky how he liked his tea or if he even liked tea at all. What an idiot. Still, you were sure he’d appreciate the gesture as you would if he made some for you. You heard your door push open and poked your head round the corner of the wall to see Bucky holding a tool box and smiled in his direction. “Hey Bucky, I really appreciate this,” He looked up and raised his eyebrows and then smiled, pushing the door closed with his foot. “It’s nothing, I needed to get out anyway and what better excuse than fixing my favourite neighbour’s sink,” He winked and you felt the flush of heat across your face. You laughed though, and walked across to your fridge, pulling out the milk and pouring drops in the tea, cautious not to add too much.   
“Favourite neighbour? Careful, don’t let the old ladies downstairs hear you say that or I’m gonna have trouble on my hands,” You smiled as you stirred, making him laugh and set his tool box down on the ground in the puddle that had formed.  
“You cause enough trouble by yourself,” He smirked, which made you turn and face him with a scoff, causing him to gesture to the floor. 

“I’m going to ignore that for your sake-“  
“For my sake-“ He began to laugh.  
“Yes, for your sake. Do you want sugar in your tea?” You pursed your lips with a smile already coming through and he shook his head at you, then decided on two sugars. You noted that in your mind for the future for some weird reason and were hit with the reality that you were in fact a weirdo. 

He sipped the tea and then looked you up and down, “Hot.” You stared at him wide eyed and then he smiled slowly, “The tea.” You laughed a little and covered your blushing face with your hand for a moment which hearing the slow rumble of his chuckle. Well that was just embarrassing, obviously the tea. Obviously. He gaze still rested on you though, and you held the warmth of your cheeks. He then suddenly decided he should actually do what he came in to do and begin work on your pipes. 

You realized instead of standing there and watching his muscles flex in his shirt as he worked you should probably do something, even with how good he looked. It was probably a better time than ever to clean your kitchen as you were planning on doing it anyway and hadn’t had time between falling asleep and shifts. It’d been busier the past couple of weeks, and with more suspicious injuries than the usual granny missing a step on her porch. You knew better than to question those people, and you guessed they came to the particular hospital that you worked in because they didn’t ask a lot of questions other than allergies and whether you were pregnant. It scared you a little, but at the same time it was the nearest hospital to where you lived, and the pay was okay. 

The radio was calling to you, and you didn’t really think Bucky would mind that much, so you turned it on at a low volume in consideration for your neighbours who were all likely deaf anyway. He glanced up but then just continued working, so you wiped the surfaces down and cleared the small dining table, if you could really call it that, of its clutter. You were surprised at the relaxation that came with having the man in your flat, a small tug of loneliness pulled at you and you knew that this was temporary, but it was nice to just have someone take a piece of your space. The moonlight shone through your window pane and the curtains fluttered with the slightest bit of breeze passing through the miniature opening of the window. You didn’t realise how hot the summer would get so luckily the positioning of your building was perfect; a direct hit from the sun and no building in the way of the wind. It also meant a perfect view of the moon.   
Bucky hummed to the music and you felt your heart buzz. It was honestly just a crush, pining, you told yourself but you were struggling to see any flaws with Bucky, other than the fact he was miles above your league. 

Sensing a shift in movement, you turned away from your distraction in the form of the window, and to the mysterious man in your apartment to see him reaching for the paper towels and hurried over. “Buck, seriously, lemme do that, you’ve done enough,” you took them from his hand and crouched in front of him to mop up the dampness. When you finished, you realised he hadn’t moved and you looked up from your low position through your lashes and you locked eyes. You realised you were in line with.. well, yeah. You absent minded-ly licked your lower lip and his eyes fluttered shut. You put a hand on his thigh to offer you support to stand up and the height difference between you both became more apparent but you kinda liked that you had to look up slightly to take in his face. The air felt thick, his closed eyes opened and you both gazed at each other with a look neither of you really knew how to handle in that moment.

You felt like you should say something, like a thankyou or something, but you weren’t sure a word would leave your mouth while you were in this close proximity with him. Instead you moved to touch his left arm, Bucky took a step back before you could lay contact and a dark look was on his face. “You shouldn’t keep your window open late at night, Brooklyn isn’t very safe. Thankyou for the cup of tea, your sink should be working fine.” You stared at him, and you knew you looked defeated. After all, you thought maybe you were getting somewhere, but no. He probably just thought you were a tart trying to woo him so he’d do tasks for you. He sighed and you crossed your arms over yourself to try give yourself comfort and conceal yourself. God you felt as though you looked ridiculous now. “Remember to lock the door after I leave. Goodnight Y/N.”

You still stood there still as you heard the door close, before moving to lock up and then undoubtedly go lay in bed wallowing in self pity before falling asleep.

A glance at the clock, 12:03am, you were already screwed for tomorrow. Well, today.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious little birdie winds up in your ward, and he's freaking the sleep deprived y/n out

It had been two weeks since the pipe incident and Bucky had gone from being present being in your mind to a dull ache, and you were sure he was avoiding you. Then again, you doubted how important your opinion was to him that he would avoid you over whatever you’d done, which you still weren’t exactly sure on. You guessed he didn’t like touching, and you still felt the buzz of embarrassment when you remembered your attempt to touch his arm. 

You got on the train quickly, stepping from the platform to subway and grabbing the bar straight away to ensure you didn’t fall in front of 50+ people. You eyed the person who was sat in the seat nearest to you, head down and covered by a baseball cap, but you were pretty sure you recognised him from somewhere. You looked away as to not draw attention to yourself; you didn’t trust the city and definitely didn’t trust the people. It wasn’t a long way to work, you knew other people had a long commute and you were lucky you found a place not too far from the hospital but you knew the last thing you needed was shady people on the train noticing you. You were honestly getting more paranoid as the days went on, Bucky was nowhere to be found, people were coming into the hospital with strange injuries, and then there were creepers on the train who you maybe or maybe not recognised. It was no help for your existing anxieties. 

The stairs up from the subway always admittedly left you a little out breath, and it was always kind of embarrassing, but you’d at least got a little better as time went on. The bustle of people made you want to curl up into a ball, but you put your hands in your pockets and kept on walking with eyes on the 7th floor of the building: your floor. The lack of sleep was definitely a problem, as the haziness of your eyes were a cause for concern, but you had no time to catch up on sleep. You already knew a pint of coffee would have to suffice, and that today would call for you wearing your glasses that you despised.  
The glass spinning doors made your head hurt but you pushed through and were greeted by the familiar smell that caused distaste to most people but to be honest, you didn’t really mind it. If you were being fully honest, the smell of the anti-bacterial sanitizer was great, and was like to you how the smell of petrol is to other people. You sighed at your weird likings and went into the back office to make yourself some coffee, knowing it was only you and a few other nurses on duty because visiting hours weren’t open yet and there weren’t many emergencies at 7am. Well, none you had to deal with.  
You were lucky because you got to just stick with your ward, and didn’t have to deal with the ambulance duty, which you were trained for. Minus the PhD, you were basically the doctor on your ward and you kind of relished in that. Because of the lack of staff, you just sort of became the go-to-girl, the one in charge and you sure as hell knew your shit. Your department consisted of around 18 beds and room in which you treated injuries that crossed between minor and major, but you only did that if your hands weren’t full with the bedded patients. 

You liked when you had to deal with breaks, funnily enough. People always had the most interesting stories about how they broke their bones, and you thought maybe it was a human phenomenon being proud of your injuries, especially when they were on the more brutal side. Talking of brutal injuries, you remembered a particularly nasty one around a year and a bit ago where some guy was basically burnt to a crisp and crushed all over his body. Apparently, he’d had a ‘building dropped on him’, but before you could really dig into it, he was taken into another unit. Probably a better hospital. You and the other younger nurses were discussing it again not that long ago, and they’d theorised the guy had something to do with the Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D bullshit that had gone on, when all the information had been leaked. It was all anyone had talked about around the hospital back then, but you never really took notice- as long as Captain America was alive, you didn’t really give a shit because you knew nothing that bad could happen. You almost laughed to yourself when thinking maybe Bucky was involved with that stuff. Yeah, right, and you were soon to become an avenger. 

Busying yourself when there was absolutely nothing to do was difficult, but it was even harder when you felt your eyelids drooping with every boring second that went by. That meant even paperwork was a chore for your tired eyes. You decided the best solution was to just hold out til your break, in which you could get a pile more of caffeine in your system. You then heard the sharp noise of footsteps down the grossly coloured hallway floor and looked up from your desk that was full of crumpled paper and patient files. Standing was probably best choice, the most professional at least, so you did and then walked to the doorway where you saw a man being assisted by two nurses who looked way too happy. He appeared to have an apparent wound in his shoulder, which in your head you mused as the classic ‘bad guy has bad aim’ which always turned out to be a fortunate situation for the good guy. Shoulder shot? Puts you out of the game, but you sure as hell aren’t dying from it. If you shoot somewhere like the stomach, well that’s where you have problems. Even the leg is risky.

You smiled in the direction of the three, and the two girls who you knew personally as Emma and Frankie knew to just follow you to an empty room so you could see whatever the hell happened to this guy. “We hope you recover soon.” Emma laid a hand on his arm(on the side that wasn’t injured), and then both girls trailed out with you looking on with a raised eyebrow and a vague inner feeling of disgust. “Wow, you sure charmed those girls alright,” You mused, gesturing to him to remove the items of clothing blocking you from the wound. He chuckled and did as you implied, and you noticed a sweet gap in between his front teeth that actually kinda added to his all round attractiveness. He wasn’t your type really, but he was still pretty cute and you could tell he was a little bit of a smooth talker. “Yeah, not sure what I said or did but they latched onto me like butter on a hot cross bun.” You laughed and questioned his phrasing.  
“Not a fan of bread, huh?”  
“No, ma’am.”

You weren’t sure if the sleep deprivation was getting to you, but you were so sure that you knew this man. He was pretty damn muscular, so you would’ve thought that you would know a guy like that from a mile off because honestly, how many guys did you know that actively worked out? How many guys did you know, period? You didn’t go to the gym either, so a guy like that would stand a mile out just randomly in the street. Okay, the guy’s injury wasn’t getting any better, so you thought you should maybe do the thing you’re paid for. “Okay, this is the real boring stuff. Name?”  
“Sam. Sam Wilson.”  
“Okay Mr Wilson, how’d you get that kickass bullet wound?” He suddenly looked a little nervous, and you were seriously wondering the effectiveness of this guy’s job routine if that was the cause of this. You could cross secret agent off the list, he wasn’t dealing secrecy with a giveaway expression like that. “I could definitely tell you over a cup of coffee on your break?” You laughed and rested a hand on your hip. He looked hopeful and you almost accepted; you were in need of coffee and you could tell it was probably a good story. However, you needed to get the bullet out of his arm asap, and you also kinda needed to pee. “I need to go get the doctor to get the bullet out of you, so I’m going to have to decli-“ As you turned to leave, he grabbed your wrist and your blood ran a little colder. You stared back into worrisome eyes and your panic reduced slightly. If he was panicked, it meant that he at least cared about leaving tracks as he didn’t want more than one person knowing he was there. But it also meant that he only had one body to dispose of. You felt bubbles rising in your throat and the only thing keeping you grounded was the hand gripping your wrist, which was actually a little strange to be comforting but you’d take what you could get. “Please.” The one word was enough for you to understand that you weren’t leaving this room and he surprisingly didn’t want to hurt you. Cool.

“I don't want to get anyone else involved. I’m sure you’re trained enough to remove a little shrapnel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol this was crap i apologise. hope you enjoyed it anyway and hope you liked the little bit of Sam in there. I really wanted y/n to meet him bc i love the boy a whole hell of a lot


End file.
